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A light was on in one office, even though most of the other offices had been dark for hours. The manager continued to work in the silence of the empty building, reviewing reports, studying numbers, responding to messages and emails that others would not read until the next morning. There was so much to do, so many responsibilities and so many decisions that would wait for the manager’s guiding hand.

The silence was broken as the manager was startled to see one of the employees standing at the door. The employee knocked hesitantly, one foot in the office and the other still in the hallway. “May I come in for a moment?” asked the employee.

“Of course,” smiled the manager, leaning back in the chair. “What are you doing here so late?”

“I had a lot of work to do and I wanted to catch-up,” said the employee. “If I get behind then it could impact our customers, and I don’t want that to happen. It’s my responsibility, and I want to take care of it. I know that’s what you would do.”

“You’re probably right,” the manager said with a laugh. “So what made you stop in here?”

The employee approached the desk, sat down in one of the chairs beside it and said, “I wanted to ask you a question.”

“Go ahead.”

The employee began, “You always work so hard, and you always take care of us. You come in early. You stay late. No matter how much you have to do, you always take time to talk to any one of us when we need you. You are so busy taking time for us during the day that you have to stay late at night to catch up on your own work. Yet, you never complain. You make us want to work harder and do better, and you give us every opportunity to be successful. You are an inspiration to the rest of us, so what inspires you?”

The manager’s eyes widened, “Wow, well that was quite a surprise. I appreciate the kind words and admit that you completely caught me off guard.”

“Well?” persisted the employee, “What is your source of inspiration?”

The manager was silent for a moment, carefully contemplating the response. Then the manager stood up and said, “follow me.”

As the manager and the employee walked down a row of cubicles, the manager started to point into them one by one. The cubicles belonged to the colleagues of the employee. “This person is a single parent and comes to work each day to support two children. Those children need someone to look up to, someone to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. This person doesn’t work for me, this person works for them.”

The manager paused at the next cubicle and said, “This person is a grandmother who is working days so she can pay for her college education at night. She doesn’t need a degree and it won’t make any difference for her career. She is already past retirement age and she could quit at any time. She wants that degree to make her children proud and to give her grandchildren someone to look up to. She doesn’t work for me, she works for them.”

The manager moved to the next cubicle and said, “This person is overqualified for the job. It would be easy to leave for another company, probably get a promotion out of it and earn better pay. Why doesn’t this person leave? After eleven years working with the same group of people, it is like a family. This person doesn’t work for me, this person works here for all of you.”

The manager paused at the next cubicle and said, “This person has a family to support. Two kids in school, a mortgage, two car payments, and a whole host of obligations that comes with taking care of a family. Needless to say, you know that this person doesn’t work for me.”

The manager pointed down the line of cubicles, “That young man is engaged to be married, and he is saving up to buy their first home. That next person has a daughter in college. The next one wants to build a career out of this experience. The one after that wants to be a musician and only does this job to earn enough money to pay the bills.”

Walking into the corridor, the manager paused and smiled as the custodian came around the corner. “This person barely speaks our language, but comes to work every day when everyone else has gone home. More than half of the money earned will go to family members who do not even live in our country, while this person keeps only enough to pay for food, shelter and transportation here every day. This person comes into my office and takes away my trash, not for me, but because it is what needs to be done to earn the money that goes to a family that lives hundreds of miles away.”

“And then there is you,” said the manager with a big smile. “You have your own reasons for coming in here every day. When I need a source of inspiration, all I have to do is look around me. I am surrounded by it. Inspiration comes from recognizing what is important to the people around you and making it your own. If I can feel the dedication that these people feel for their children, for their families, for their hopes and dreams, then I have all the inspiration that I need. They are inspired by their own sense of purpose, and I am inspired by them. Just as you believe that you are inspired by me, I am inspired by you.”

Words of Wisdom

“Inspiration may be a form of superconsciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness – I wouldn’t know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self- consciousness.” – Aaron Copland

“Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation.” – William Arthur Wood

John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital.www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching. www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.

Here is the latest song release from All Choral Works.com. It can be found on Itunes – Amazon, Google play or any online retailer. Reviews and ratings help and we ask that you take a few moiment to share in this new Hymn of God’s Glory and Worship

Chronic Illness affects not only the physical body, but the emotional and spiritual well being of not only the sick, but the families, friends, caregivers, and the congregation as well.

The dictionary defines Chronic as a long period of time or marked by frequent events. When dealing with chronic illness, this can be a single illness that last for a long period of time, or a series of illnesses that recur over a long time. With this article we will refer to those who have been affected with an illness or a series of illnesses lasting greater than one year.

Experience and research of the authors

Wade Phelps and a friend he teamed up with, are the authors of this article, they are both married to spouses diagnosed with different ailments that fall under the category of chronically ill. As devoted servants of God and Ministers in our Church, we have learned first hand what it is do deal with chronic illness and the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual drain it can create.

On top of the first hand experience, research was done through clinical pastoral websites, psychologists, and a number of conversations with the hospital pastoral services, who have received degrees in providing pastoral care to those with chronic illness.

Identifying the roles and responsibilities of each party.

As mentioned earlier in this article, chronic illness not only affects the sick, but many others as well, this section will identify those involved and the characteristics of each individual(s)

The Sick – this is the person who has the ailment. The emotions of someone who is chronically ill are more intense and often misinterpreted. Some of the emotions that overwhelm the ill include guilt, anger, regret, battles of faith, feeling of punishment, hopelessness, mood swings, (both internal and external) and so on.

The Caregiver – this individual(s) is generally a spouse, parent, or an immediate family member. There may be one or many depending on the individual situations in each family. The caregiver generally picks up the slack when The Sick is ill. This includes many times finances, housework, family care, and communication with others when dealing with the medical emergencies.

The Immediate Family – This is the Parents or the Children of the Sick. Even if the Sick is an adult, the strain that is put on the parents of the Sick need to be provided for as well. These parents may not be the daily Caregiver, but the parents love and the feeling of helplessness can weigh heavy on a parents heart. Parents generally take the role of providing answers to their children so they may put additional strain of The Sick due to a controlling nature. Parents may have the most difficult time with accepting the illness and that God is in control. With non-adult children, confusion sets in. For teenagers, the rebellion may be heightened due to a feeling of injustice because of a lack of normalcy.

The family and friends – For those active in a Church, this also includes fellow members of the congregation. These are those who provide emotional and sometimes spiritual support as well. The family and friends react differently to the illness. There reactions may include

Medical Staff – these people are the individuals who provide care to the sick. They too have not only a job to do, but an emotional interest into the illness as well. The Medical Staff are many times put into a peculiar situation because they are expected in todays society to have all of the answers. They too feel guilt and pain when they cannot solve the illness. They do feel the pain of the family and share in it as well. The Medical staff too may deal with the situation many times like the family and friends do.

Spiritual Support – this responsibility is sometimes shared by many different individuals. Emotional care and spiritual care is sometimes so intertwined, that both issues have to be addressed at the same time. The spiritual support also may react differently to the illness depending on their experience and characteristics as well.

All of the above individuals/groups are all afflicted and have had to make changes in their lives. The Afflicted – this includes the Sick, the Caregiver, The immediate family, the Family and friends, or anyone who is affected by the illness. The carry different emotional levels and ways to deal with the affliction.

Some include: (but not limited to) —

a. They ignore the situation – either out of fear of what to say, or insecurity over the situation, these people ignore or walk away from the situation as if it never happened. Most times, the sick person and the caregiver are ignored because these people do not know what to say to them.

b. Problem solvers – these are those who has to have all the answers and feel it is their duty to provide advice. To these people they are there when the sickness starts but fizzle out as the illness continues.

c. The Judgmental – they may view the situation as a punishment from God or a challenge due to lack of faith. They may not even know they are reacting this way.

d. The supporters – these are those who even though they may not know exactly what the sick are going through, they make themselves available to them if needed.

e. The relaters – these are those who do know of the situation either because they lived through it or had an immediate family member who went through a similar situation. Not always is their someone who can relate in the congregation or in the immediate family.

Emotional stages of all of those involved (The grieving process)

Shock/Impact – The beginning of the grieving process is not always grieving in itself. This stage takes place when an individual first becomes ill, or when (especially for the chronically ill) new information or changes to the process of the illness takes place. The rest of the afflicted also share a phase of Shock/Impact as well. There is no predetermined time frame of this phase. Fear of the unknown causes these people an overwhelming sense of shock. At this time many thoughts are running through the mind of those involved. Rash decision(s), the inability to make a decision(s), or constant changes to a decision(s) takes place. Their thoughts will react faster than their words or actions. The conversation may go in many different directions or their may be a lack of conversation because the mind is attempting to absorb the impact of the situation.

Denial – The second stage in the mourning process. It buffers initially the shock by denying or refusing the illness or the effect it will have on their lives. Chronically ill people must deal with everyday affairs, such as domestic duties, family matters, school, work, etc. This means that their illnesses cannot always be the centre of attention. In such cases, denial is effective because it temporarily pushes aside the illness and enables those involved to deal with other priorities

Emotional Confusion (focusing inward) – Chronic illness affects more than the fear over health or the physical pain; it affects every aspect of their lives as well as the lives of those who surround them. To those affected, there is an overwhelming feeling of being attacked. It feels as if you are standing in the center of a room with every trouble and battle attacking you from every direction. Everywhere you turn; there is another battle or challenge that needs attention. This feeling of being trapped drains the emotional, spiritual, and physical aspect of the afflicted. To many of the afflicted, guilt of failure or guilt of failing God can constantly plague them. An inward feeling is then created as if the whole world is falling apart. This is generally the most emotional of all the stages. In this stage, be cautious of a constant transition of emotions. The affected many times cannot reach out or lack the strength to reach out to others. When dealing with those in this stage, you may feel as if you are being pushed away, not trusted, or not needed. In most cases, it is just the opposite. If in doubt, ask.

Effort at resolution (Focusing outward) –This is the stage at which decisions will be made. Decisions of faith, finances, domestic changes, and medical responsibilities arise in this stage. Attempts to open up to others are made. Just because the decisions are made does not mean that these decisions are ok with the affected. Time may still be needed to accept the new way of life. Constant moving from emotional confusion to an effort at resolution may take place.

Acceptance – This is the beginning of the healing process. This is an internal acceptance of the changes that were made in the prior phase. When dealing with the chronic illness, acceptance may happen in steps instead of all at once. The pain of everything may still be there, but it is less in the forefront and the afflicted starts to see beyond the pain and make attempts to start living again

These stages repeat themselves continuously and in no particular order for all who deal with chronic illness. These stages also affect not only the sick, but also the caregiver, the family and friends, and even at times the Medical staff and the spiritual support as well. These stages happen at different times for each of them. Conflicts will arise due to the different emotions that take place at different times for each of the afflicted.

Providing spiritual care

Identify the roles of each person, their personality, and the emotional stage they are in.

Communication

Prayer – An open communication with God our Father is a must.

Psalm 66:20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Remember the Story of The Lord Jesus in the Garden. He prayed that the cup would pass him by but still ended the prayer with God’s will be done. (Luke 22:39-44) The adversity of illness also may cause us to ask for God to take it away. We must remember still that all good thing happen to those who love the Lord

Apostle Paul and his thorn – 2 Corinth 12:1-10 understand that it is ok to ask for the thorn to be removed, but also be prepared when God provides the answer we seek, even if it is not the answer we were seeking.

The art of Listening – In grief, advice in not always sought after. Many of the afflicted know what needs to be done, they just need time to adjust and accept the difficult path. When providing spiritual care, allow the afflicted to speak what is in their heart and soul. They may not make sense or may say some things that seem rash. This is part of the grieving process.

If you do not know, ask. – A minister or any person providing spiritual care is still human and is not expected to know everything. With concern, ask how you can minister unto them.

Visiting (the little visit) – not always does a minister need to have a 1 to 2 hour visit in order to provide spiritual care. To someone who is grieving, an hour seems like a day, a day seems like a week, a week is like a month, and so on. A phone message, email, 2 minute conversation before or after service goes a long way. A little visit is a key to helping the afflicted deal with the grieving process. Separate little visits for each of the afflicted, not just the sick, is also recommended

Leave them a spiritual gift. – Spiritual Music, A Worship video,a Bible text. There is no exact science here as each person is different, some are visual learners, some are Audio, and some are researchers. The purpose of this gift is not to solve their problem but to give them a little something to hang on to when they are alone.

Don’t be judgmental

Accepting God’s will- when providing spiritual care, accept the fact that this battle has been approved by God. Do not tell God or the member that he (God) will make it go away. It is ok to ask but allow Gods will to be done.

Acceptance of the sick to the caregiver – advise the caregiver to learn to separate the illness from the one who is ill. Teach the caregiver that it is ok to be upset with the illness without being upset with the sick person. This is a difficult battle for the caregiver to separate the sickness from the sick person.

Acceptance of the caregiver to the sick – the person who is sick must learn to accept the role of the caregiver and that the caregiver is doing the best that he/she can with the increase of responsibility. Flaws in the caregiver may come out more due to the extra stress and responsibility. The sick must also accept that the caregiver may do things differently or to a lower level of standards than what is normally done.

Acceptance of the medical personnel – The medical personnel are not perfect. Even though they are trained in their field, they may not have all of the answers. The Medical staff also want what is best for the sick individual and have a emotional investment into this as well

Being mad, sad, or feel weak is not a weakness of faith or a bad thing – God created emotions and knows our grieving process. It is not a failing faith to have these feelings. Let the emotional stages run their course regardless of how long it takes. Some stages will last longer than others depending on the characteristics of The Afflicted. The longer the illness may result in longer emotional stages as well

Seeking professional help

Medical – the medical staff are trained and educated. A time may come when you may need to ask questions on behalf of the family.

Mental therapists – advise all those afflicted that seeking professional therapy is not a weakness in faith. They are trained also in dealing with grief and can help in the healing process

The Hospital pastoral staff – each hospital is equipped with a professionally trained person trained in clinical pastoral care. They do not teach religion or try to convert. If you are providing spiritual care and am confused, visit the hospital pastor for advice in dealing with the situation. They may also help with the spiritual care of the sick person in the hospital by providing follow up visits during the day to the sick individual. In such a dark moment in the Afflicted souls life, do not feel solely responsible to solve their situation. Not only is this impossible when you ponder the amount of time it takes to be there every time they need you, but in turn, you may portray that YOU (not GOD) are all that they need in their life.

Promote, Promote, PROMOTE

Faith – a promotion of keeping the faith given to the afflicted can go a long way. Sharing experiences of faith grants strength to continue to fight.

When decisions are made, promote the afflicted when they make the decisions. Support them in the decisions they make. Making a decision during a conflict can be scary or more difficult in such a stressful time. The consequences of some decisions may be life threatening and need support. Their decision may be the wrong one or may change. Though you can advise them to seek medical attention in this decision, you can cause a lot more harm than good if you challenge them here. Be very very careful. In the middle of the crisis, you are not helping them by redirecting them, and they will not see that what you are doing is out of love. If the decision needs immediate medical attention, get the medical/psychological staff involved. Let them be the bad guy as they are much better trained to deal with this than you are.

Positive steps – Chronic illness has a way of causing people to feel like they are trapped in sorrow. Any small step of a positive nature needs to be supported and complimented. These little positive moments helps the heart and soul begin the emotional and spiritual process of healing. The afflicted may feel overwhelmed at all of the things that must be done. Teach them to take it one step at a time and prioritize what needs to be attended to.

Prayer and that God hears your prayers – Constantly promote an open communication with God and that he hears every prayer.

The willingness to endure – We know that God does not give us anything we can’t handle, but some battles are too great for us to handle it on our own. Continue to promote the willingness to endure and support and compliment their endurance.

Love and support – constantly let the afflicted know that God loves them and that they are loved within the congregation.

That strength comes from God – promote Godly strength and that our endurance is not in vain. This requires a continuous reaffirmation because hope is generally the first thing to go. For the afflicted, hope is the main source of strength.

Promote the Lord’s return – The afflicted individuals need to hear about God’s greater plan for us. Chronic illness attacks hope in the future and the worthiness of the individual to be prepared for the Lord’s return.

Additional advice

Taking emotional breaks – it is ok to take a break from the illness. This is therapeutic and provides a sense of humanness. To all of the afflicted, taking an emotional break from each other is not a bad thing either. Watch a spiritual movie or video. Listen to a Christian CD

Identify the guilt aspect – so many aspects of guilt and regret may come out. Teach the afflicted to lay even their guilt into the hands of God and ask him to deal with it.

Accept the emotional roller coaster – Don’t take it personally even if you as a spiritual supporter feel like you are being attacked. Do not stop the emotional cycle to defend yourself, there will be time in the future for that. . Let the stages of emotions run its course.

Please do not use We missed you, I didn’t see you, or Where were you comments. Instead, just tell them they were loved and fill them in on what happened. Some comments add to the guilt and the stress instead of showing love as you intended. Imagine if you missed an event that was out of your control and then everyone came up to you and said they missed you? How much more to some with a Chronic Illness.

Recognize the emotional investment of all involved., Look at the heart more than the words or actions.

Visit the Immediate family as well – If the Sick is an adult, take a moment to visit the spiritual needs of the parents. Make a separate phone call or visit. With the children in the household, recognize that the emotions of growing up as a child may be heightened. Take a moment to visit them as well. Speak to the Sunday School teachers or others to provide assistance with the children.

Silence is OK – Do not fill silence with advice. Most of the time, the sick know the answer but need time and attention in order to accept. Some of the greatest spiritual visits are made when nothing is said. You are even providing spiritual care by being there in these moments of silence.

You are there for spiritual support, not to take away all of their problems – Some people may feel that spiritual support for the afflicted is to help them fix their problems. The battle is in God’s hands. Don’t try to solve their problems.

Do not attempt to be their only spiritual provider – Some ministers are protective in the way they care for their members. The afflicted require more spiritual care than any one person can provide. Why does it take 20 to 30 medical personnel to take care of one person who is sick? With spiritual care, it is no different. It takes a Family/congregation to care spiritually for the sick. This is the work of God not the work of man, get others involved.

If you need material Worship Videos, Music,Custom videos, Advice, please do not hesitate to email us at info@allchoralworks.com. We offer plenty of material to the chronically ill at no charge. It is so much more important that they feel the love of God more than any opportunity we could have to make a profit, and where possible, we will drop everything and give this our top priority.

The bible is a compilation of writings used in order to establish theology. Examples of bibles include but are not limited to the Islam, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian religions.

The Christian bible comprises of the following. (New King James Version or KNJV)

Old Testament: In the NKJV there are 39 books starting with Moses at about 1491BC to the time of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is broken into 3 parts

History: there are 17 historical books overall.

Poetic: The 5 Poetic books of the bible are used many times for inspiration and praise.

Prophetical:17 books primarily consisting of prophesies of the future and the events of the prophets of the Old Testament.

New Testament: In the NKJV there are 27 books overall starting with the Gospels and ending with Revelations. The New Testament is also broken into 3 parts:

History:The first 5 books known as the Gospel(Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John) and the Book of Acts.

The Epistles: or letters. 21 books overall (14 written by Apostle Paul)

Prophetical:The Revelation of Jesus Christ as written by Apostle John is the only prophetical book in the New Testament.

Apocrypha: Comes from the Greek word meaning: those having been hidden away. These books carry questionable value because the authenticity of the book cannot be verified, or as determined by some religions, it goes against the belief of a religion.

The Timeline of a bible Pre-Reformation 50AD to 1516AD

The original writings were not always written as the events occurred:

Moses wrote the first 5 books. Based on Exodus 24, we know that at least one of the books came directly from God of the bible compiling approximately 2500 years of history before him. Most Christians believe that all of the books were told by God to Moses so that he could account for the past. It is believed that Moses wrote many more books, but only the Pentateuch was preserved. In 1849 2 books were introduced in Germany claiming to be the 6th and the 7th book of Moses. These books were called the book of magic and healings. These books were introduced to the public in Latin. Moses wrote and spoke in Hebrew. Latin was used in reference to religious writings from the 5th century AD to approximately the 16th century AD. Since there is a lot of discrepancy and the inability to verify the source through original writings, many Christians question the authenticity.

The writings of the activities of the Lord Jesus (the first 4 books of the New Testament often called the Gospel were not written until 20-50 years after the Death of the Lord Jesus. Historians have disputed actual dates of these writings since the 4th century. There is no conclusive evidence to show an exact date.

Prior to the 4th century, there was no combined source of all of the writings. These writings were kept over many generations through scrolls and just as with the English language, the Hebrew language evolved as well, thus creating the need for translation.

Christians were heavily persecuted for their beliefs until Constantine I (called Constantine the Great, because he was the First Christian ruler) became ruler over the Roman Empire about 305 AD. In 311 AD Constantine passed what is called the Edict of Milan, which removed penalties for professing Christianity, thus making Christianity legal.

In the summer of 325AD, the First Council of Nicaea was convened by Constantine I. This meeting of approximately 318 bishops and 1800 religious persons (priests and deacons) was the first meeting of Christians since the Apostles met in Jerusalem. Though the topic of combining literature (the bible), was never brought up at this meeting, it set a precedence for future meetings. It is important to note that a voting process was established at this meeting and that Constantine I did not carry a vote, only the bishops. Some scholars believe he persuaded a lot of the votes at this meeting but this voting process was also used in future meetings where Constantine I had already passed away.

In 331, Constantine I commissioned Eusebius ( a religious advisor and friend) to combine approximately 50 to 60 books into a bible and deliver fifty copies for the Church of Constantinople. This is the first known attempt to combine theology into one source. It is believed that Constantine I picked the books that he wanted to include and excluded some of the books that may have had some Pagan writings in them. He was against Pagan worship though it was the belief of the majority of the people at that time.

Over 4 other Council meetings in different parts of the world a combination of books were comprised to make the bible consisting of 73 books. These books were chosen based on:

Authenticity – the ability to verify the author.

Doctrine – since there was so much persecution of the Christians, a lot of outside influence or writings were made in attempt to destroy Christianity. Many writings were tampered with or possibly destroyed.

The 4 meetings were the The Council of Laodecia in 360 AD (council of mid eastern bishops), The Council of Rome in 382 AD (council of the Roman Bishops), The Council of Hippo in 393 AD (council of the African Bishops), The Council of Carthage (also in Africa) of 397.

The Council of Carthage met in 419 AD to accept The Vulgate translation of the bible. (though it is believed the Vulgate was translated up to 50 years before the meeting) Latin was believed at the time to be the most holy of all the languages due to its history and its discipline. Unlike other languages that change over time, the Latin language remained constant. These Bishops felt in order to preserve the writings and due to the classiness of the language that the bible should be written in Latin. Within the next 100 years, it was viewed as a sin to have anything but The Vulgate (Latin translation) to be used. This version which was only understood by very few, was used for over 1000 years throughout the dark ages. The author of the Vulgate (Father Jerome) had a question of the authenticity of some of the books. Some of these questions came from The Jewish Council of Jamnia (70 AD) in which these 7 books were removed from the approved reading material of the Hebrew Canon and scrolls (their version of the bible). Some scholars believe that this meeting happened to refute Christianity therefore these 7 books were removed from the Hebrew canon. These 7 books later became part of the optional Apocrypha in the King James Version.

Dark ages – from 476 AD to 1000 AD (and to some scholars the dark ages lasted to 1300 AD). A Monk would take approximately 10 -12 months to copy one bible. The cost of one bible was equivalent to $200,000 in todays money. Obviously, not every household had a bible. Most churches lacked the funds for a bible as well. Only the Rulers, Cardinals (high bishops), the extremely rich, and major universities had a copy of the bible. Since The Vulgate Bible was written in Latin, most of those who owned a bible could not read it much less understand its entire meaning.

John Wycliffe was an educated Doctor of Divinity, minister, and professor from Oxford. In 1382 AD he became the first person to translate a bible in almost 1000 years. This was a crime to the church of the time. His belief (about 200 years before the reformation) was that a bible should be available to every Christian. He had no intention at first of going against the church, but over time he had undergone so much persecution by the church that his English translation of the bible was full off many errors and personal attacks. Even after his death, his body was dug up to be burned at the stake by the ruling of the church.

The Timeline of a bible during The Reformation 1517 AD to 1648 AD

1455 AD even though the printing press was invented 62 years before the official start of the reformation, this invention (Johann Guttenburg) allowed people to read printed material for themselves, including the bible, or translated excepts as was the case during this time period.

Questions over religious practices started forming including the question why the bible was in Latin.

1517 AD Martin Luther, an educated minister of the Church and a university professor, prepares the 95 theses, a compilation of 95 questionable practices of the church. Because of the printing press, word spread very quickly, faster than ever before. Like Wycliffe, he did not want to form a separation from the church, but wanted to correct what he felt were issues where the church had moved in the wrong direction.

1521 to 1522 AD The beginnings of a German Bible. While being sequestered in an informal imprisonment, Luther begins to translate the New Testament using the original Greek writings to write into German. He continued to translate the bible but the full version wasnt published until 1534.

1528 AD the bible is translated into French, but it took many years to become available due to the fact that the printing press was not yet accepted there.

1535AD to1568 AD Translation of the bible begins in English. 4 different versions were created during this time. (The Coverdale Bible, The Great Bible, The Geneva Bible, and The Bishops Bible) Different sources were used to translate and errors were found in all of them.

1545 AD to 1563AD As a response by the Catholic church to the reformation and the Protestors of the church, a council was formed to establish the church position. The Council of Trent finally adopted a universal acceptance of the 73 books of the bible in one of its meetings. It also declared that the Church had the sole authority for bible interpretation. This meant that the Church would continue use of the Latin bible and that translation of the bible was prohibited.

1582 to 1610 AD After much criticism of the Council of Trent findings, the Catholic church creates an English version of the bible called the Douay-Rheims Bible. This bible was written directly from The Vulgate (Latin) Bible.

Starting in 1604 AD and published in 1611 AD, King James and the Bishop of England authorized the creation of a new translated bible using the most advanced methods possible (refer to the English Bibles section). The bible was so well done that it was accepted for the next 300 plus years as the bible of choice for most English speaking Christians and religions.

The Timeline of a bible Post-Reformation 1648 AD to the present

1830AD Joseph Smith publishes a supplement to the bible called the Book of Mormon.

1880 -1904AD The American Standard Version was published using Elizabethian text. This bible was created in order to modernize the English language in England. This translation never gained acceptance in the US for the reading was just as difficult as the King James Version.

1899 A revised version of Douay-Rheims Bible was published.

1947AD The Dead Sea Scrolls revealed a great amount of information in order to interpret the traditional Hebrew text and how the language changed over the years.

1950 The New World Version is published. This translation was created by and for The Jehovah Witnesses.

1952 to1976 AD Six separate attempts are made to translate the bible into modern English. (Revised Standard Bible, The Berkley Bible, The New English Bible, New American Standard Bible, The Living Bible, and The Good News Bible) Whether it was the timing, acceptance of the Christian community, or the belief of personal interference, these translations never became popular.

1978 The New International Version (NIV) was published.

1982 The New King James Version (NKJV) was published.

2002 The newest interpretation called The Message was published.

Translating the Bible

The Old Testament was originally written mostly in Hebrew or Aramaic. The language, like English, evolved over the years. The finding of the dead sea scrolls allowed theologians insight to how the Hebrew language evolved over the years thus creating a better translation into the many different languages today.

There are over 2200 different translations to the bible in 1200 languages.

There are many challenges in translating any book. Not every word in one language translates into another language. Different meanings of a word can change over location or time. Different languages also use different structures in writing. For example the Greek text uses no spaces between words. It was also handwritten in a cursive text. The sentence format in Hebrew and Greek was also different.

To most theologians, translating text is divided into 3 parts:

Literal translation: A direct word for word translation. For example:

Genesis 1:1 -4 (NKJV) says: (1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (2) The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (3) Then God said, let there be light, and there was light. (4) And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

The literal word for word translation of Genesis 1:1-4 is In the beginning created God the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form and empty, and darkness on the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God moving gently on the surface of the waters. Then said God Let be light and was light And saw God the light that good and separated God between the light the darkness.

Notice how there is no verses or numbering in the original Greek or Hebrew text. this is just a simple example of what only got more complicated as the books of the bible evolved over time.

Dynamic Translation: The meaning of the writer using words that carry the same emphasis and meaning as in the original text. The word SUPER can change to COOL or AWESOME over time. The word GROOVY has lost its emphasis over the years and has since been replaced. This is an example of less than 50 years, The dynamics of the word change as time goes on. There are also variances to word meaning based on location. In Canada you would ask for a soda, not a pop or coke as in England. If you are to translate a universal English bible, how would you account for this.

Theological: What was meant to be said in a translation? This of course leads to the greatest disagreements because an opinion is necessary in order to translate from one language to the next. This is extremely difficult when examples or parables are used. Imagine how hard it would be to take a poem or song in the Book of Psalms and try to get the true meaning across without changing the literal translation.

The English Bibles

In the United States, there are over 50 accepted English versions of the bible. The most used interpretations of the bible are the King James Version (KJV), The New International Version (NIV), The New King James Version (NKJV), The Douay-Rheims Bible (for the Catholics), and the Message Bible. These bibles are accepted by most Christian religions without individual religion interference.

King James Version (KJV)

Number of books – 66 (an optional apocrypha of 15 books)

Originally published as complete -1611 AD

Who wrote it: Although 54 men were nominated by King James, only 47 were known to have taken part in the work of translation. The translators were organized into six groups, and met respectively at Westminster, Cambridge, and Oxford University. After translation their portion of the bible, the other groups read the translation to approve it. The project took 5 years to complete.

Sources used to translate: Original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek transcripts were used to translate.

Translation style: There were 15 rules associated with the translation as well as a checks and balances with the approval of a translation from the other groups. Errors or disagreements were brought up in a general assembly meeting. The other rule was to go for the Literal translation above dynamic or theological translation.

Criticism: The KJV used a higher English than that of the common people of the time. Of the 47 translators, all but one was a minister of the Church of England. Some criticize that only Protestant ministers participated.

The New International Version (NIV)

Number of books 66

Originally published as complete: 1978 AD

Who wrote it – The core translation group was overseen by fifteen Biblical scholars. The translation took ten years and involved a team of 100 people from the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The range of those participating included over twenty different denominations such as Baptists, Evangelicals, Methodists, Lutherans, Anglicans, and more.

Sources used to translate: Original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek transcripts were used as well as reference to The Dead Sea Scrolls and The Vulgate. (Latin Bible)

Translation style: The intent of the translators was to produce an accurate and readable translation that would fall in-between Literal and Theological approaches.

Criticism: The NIV puts a little more emphasis on the meaning instead of literal translation. Because of this, some verses of the bible were completely changed to emphasize a meaning as seen by Theological interpretation.

The New King James Version (NKJV)

Number of books – 66 (apocrypha can consist of up to 15 books)

Originally published as complete – 1982 AD

Who wrote it – The NKJV translation project, which was conceived by Arthur Farstad, was inaugurated in 1975 with two meetings (Nashville and Chicago) of 68 interested persons, most of them prominent Baptists but also including some conservative Presbyterians.

Sources used to translate: The original KJV of 1611, original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek transcripts were used as well as reference to The Dead Sea Scrolls and The Vulgate. (Latin Bible)

Translation style – The aim of its translators was to update the vocabulary and grammar of the King James Version, while preserving the classic style and beauty of the 1611 version. In the same vein of the KJV, questions about translations followed the literal approach as opposed to the Theoretical approach.

Criticism: Too much emphasis was placed on the preservation of the KJV thus creating a language that is not really used in modern English.

The Douay-Rheims Bible

Number of books 73 (optional Appendices of 6 books)

Originally published as complete: 1610 AD

Who wrote it: Appointed by Pope Damasus 1, Jerome, a scholar and minister of the Catholic church, translated the new English bible

Sources used to translate:The Vulgate (Latin) approved by the Church in 419 AD.

Translation style: Aimed at preserving the Holiness of the Latin Bible, Jerome was commissioned to keep the Literal meaning in tact. This version took 27 years to complete.

Criticism – Only one person was involved in the translation and only The Vulgate Bible was used to translate the bible into English. Though the translation of individual words may vary, the context of the bible is extremely similar to that of the KJV.

The Message Bible

Number of books 66

Originally published as complete: 2002 AD

Who wrote it: Written by Eugene Peterson, a retired minister now retired in Montana, over a nine year period. He attempted to write a bible in modern day Street Language.

Sources used to translate: Original Greek text was used as well as prior English versions of the bible.

Translation style – Theological translation was the primary concern of the Author.

Criticism: Critics say the author tends to oversimplify or interpret incorrectly. They claim that more emphasis is placed on the text sounding good than that of the true literal meaning of the text. Since a USA Street Language is used, fear over the true meaning may be lost over time or location.

Is the bible complete? Has it been tampered with?

Is it Complete:

Prior to the creation of the Bible, Hebrew writings outside of the bible confirms that there were literally hundreds, if not thousands, of writings about that may have helped provide a deeper understanding of the God and His plan. The ability to authenticate the source or that it is the Word of God did prohibit other books from being included.

Recent or New Testament Discoveries:

The Gospel of Judas: A manuscript was found in 1976 written in Coptic, a recent phase of ancient Egyptian, and probably identical to the Gospel of Judas written about in the old church. 2 other letters were attached. It is important to note that this book was referenced as heresy in early Christian writings. It should be emphasized that the Gospel of Judas does not contain any true passing downs of Jesus and it was written by Gnostic believers about 180 AD, not by anyone who was witness to Christ at the time he was here on earth.

Claims to at least 500 (New Testament) books have been omitted from the bible based on the same basic principals as set for the books that were included in the bible.

Has it been tampered with? First we define what tampering means:

Translational tampering: lost it’s meaning through translation.

Political tampering: influence in order to create power.

Theoretical Tampering: based on an individual belief.

Adding to the bible: Changing the words to conform to a particular belief.

Removing from the bible: omitting information that is known to be the Word of God.

In general it is possible that any or all of the above could have happened.

Questions to be discussed

Is the Bible the complete all inclusive Word of God?

Has the Bible been tampered with over the years? If so, was the tampering, intentional or unintentional?

If intentional tampering was done in the Early church or during the Dark Ages, wouldnt there be more information on some of their religious practices included in the Bible?

Which translation of the bible do you like? Why?

Of all the other books introduced, why are these books not included in the Bible?

Is the NKJV bible 100% accurate? Can any translation of the bible claim that?

Can a Bible be translated completely in a Literal (word for word) sense?

What are some of the problems with Theological translations

What role did the Checks and Balances created by Constantine I make of the preservation of the Bible?

Why was the printing press so important?

What role did the Dead Sea scrolls take?

If you were in charge of Creating or translating the Bible, would you have done anything different?

Why do you think that the Christians of the Dark Ages use so many rituals and Idols?

Can the Bible alone bring you salvation?

Do you believe that God still influenced what was included in the Bible?

Fun Bible Statistics (NKJV not including the Apocrypha)

Chapters 1,189

Verses: 31,101

Number of promises given in the Bible: 1,260

Commands: 6,468

Predictions: over 8,000

Fulfilled prophecy: 3,268 verses

Unfulfilled prophecy: 3,140

Number of questions: 3,294

Longest name: Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:1)

Longest verse: Esther 8:9 (78 words)

Shortest verse: John 11:35 (2 words: “Jesus wept”).

Longest book: Psalms (150 chapters)

Shortest book (by number of words): 3 John

A number of verses in the Bible (KJV) contain all but 1 letter of the alphabet:

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